Sampler by Nancey Semple
Date1798 (dated)
Artist/Maker
Nancey Semple
OriginAmerica, Delaware
MediumSilk embroidery threads on a linen ground of 38 x 34 threads per inch (fiber identification by Textile Lab)
DimensionsOH 15 5/8" x OW 14 1/8"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1992-10
DescriptionThis is an almost square needlework sampler work in silk embroidery threads on a natural color linen ground. The sampler is hem stitched on all four sides. The sampler has a wide outer border consisting of four large realistically stitched flower sprigs, two large flower bud sprigs, one large berry sprig, a large vase of flowers, and eight birds, each one holding a sprig. The inner section of the sampler consists of a rectangular region outlined in dark blue/green decorative stitches. Within the rectangular region the upper portion consists of:
"A-H" upper case block in eyelet stitch
Band done in cross stitch
"I K-Q" upper case block in eyelet stitch
Band done in cross stitch
"R-X" upper case block in eyelet stitch
Band in cross stitch
"Y Z" upper case block in eyelet stitch; followed by "Nancey Semple" in cross stitch
Band in cross stitch
The lower portion consists of the verse: "Kind angels watch my sleeping dust/ To Jesus comes to raise the just/ Then may I wake in sweet surprise/ And in my Saviour's [sic] image rise." Below this is the date "Anno Domini 1798." A vine with seven flowers is to the left and above the verse. Two flowers are to the right of the verse.
Stitches: chain, cross, eyelet, hem, outline, and satin
Label TextNancey Semple's sampler is one of the earliest of a regional sampler style worked by girls from Maryland, Delaware, and possibly other Mid-Atlantic states. Nancey lived in Mill Creek Hundred and it's likely that she worked her sampler at a fashionable girl’s school in Wilmington, Delaware.Inscription(s)"Kind angels watch my sleeping dust/ To Jesus comes to raise the just/ Then may I wake in sweet surprise/ And in my Saviour's [sic] image rise."
"Anno Domini 1798"ProvenanceNo provenance other than vendor is known.
History of sampler maker:
Susi Slocum, sampler specialist, has identified Nancey Semple as living in Mill Creek Hundred, Delaware.
